My wriggly roommates
Posted on Saturday, August 23, 2008
My first attempt at keeping a small indoor compost heap turned into a smelly, fruit-fly-infested mess. But with the addition of helpful worms, my new compost bin is full of vegetable peelings, strawberry tops, coffee grounds, egg shells and tea bags that are quickly turning into a rich soil without the smell or the flies.
I’d been familiar with composting before I started this project. Growing up, I put scraps in a ceramic kitchen pail and my parents took it to a compost pile in the garden. In the last city I lived in, I kept kitchen scraps in a small trash can and friends took it to their garden heap once a week. Or I took scraps to a community garden pile.
In my new place in Little Rock, I didn’t want to give up composting. Although I don’t need the end result — a nutrient-rich soil-like material perfect for fertilizer — for my plants or garden, I like that my numerous vegetable scraps didn’t have to end up in a landfill.
Food and paper break down naturally, but landfills operate anaerobically, without oxygen, so the natural process does not occur. Composting, in contrast, operates with oxygen, microbes and worms to break down organic matter. Unlike in landfills, the decomposition process in compost heaps doesn’t release methane gas.
Betsy Spetich, the western Arkansas recycling coordinator for the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, says U. S. Environmental Protection Agency studies show that two thirds of trash in landfills is food waste, yard waste, wood waste, paper and other organic materials that can naturally decompose.
“You can’t worm-compost or backyard-compost all of the stuff that’s included in that, but still you can compost quite a bit of material that you would normally throw away,” Spetich says. “And by doing it in your backyard or under the sink, there’s no transportation involved, there’s no city labor involved, so that’s why we’re encouraging people to do that.” Even if I could find a friend with a compost heap or a community garden, I knew that eventually, despite my convictions, hauling salad scraps across town might wear on me. I set out to do it in my apartment.
The messy first attempt was the result of poor planning. I lined a small trash bin with wet newspaper strips and started adding peelings and coffee grounds. But I didn’t chop the food into small pieces nor did I continue adding newspaper, which would have helped keep a good balance of carbon material to the nitrogen-rich food material. After a few weeks, the fruit flies were multiplying, mold was growing and there was a certain ammonia smell coming from the bin.
When I started over, the help of the worms was essential.
Spetich says worm composting is the way to go indoors, but she adds that some commercial products do the job inside as well.
Through research I learned that worms can break down food waste three times faster than the natural decomposition process — the work of microorganisms — can alone. I called several garden stores and bait shops in Little Rock but couldn’t find the worms I needed. Red wigglers work best because they can handle warmer temperatures, which is important since the decomposing process gives off heat. They also aren’t as sensitive to changing pH levels as typical backyard earthworms.
I consulted the Internet, where I found a surprising number of sites selling red wigglers. The site www. unclejim swormfarm. com seemed to be my best bet. I bought 1, 000 worms for $ 29. 95 including shipping and handling. They arrived in a canvas bag four days later and though they immediately needed water, they were all alive and intact.
One of the most helpful sites for researching exactly how to set up my worm bin can be found by typing the word “vermicomposting” into the navigation search link on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Web site, lancaster. unl. edu / pest / resources / ver micompost 107. shtml.
Wood or plastic can be used for the bin. I bought a Rubbermaid bin with a lid — dark colored because worms favor darkness. With the lid placed loosely on top, the worms so far seem to get enough air circulation; drilling a few holes in the top is also an option.
Next I shredded newspapers to make the bedding for the worms and keep a balance between carbon (the newspaper ) and nitrogen (the food scraps ). In my 10-gallon container I used about a pound of shredded newspaper. Peat moss or commercial worm bedding can also be used. Spetich says filling the entire bin with bedding works best.
The worms get their oxygen from moisture, so the bedding must be damp but not soaking wet. It’s important that oxygen circulate throughout the compost, so the bedding should be fluffed. Once food starts to accumulate, pay attention that the pile doesn’t become too heavy or compacted to let air circulate.
When I added leftover vegetables this time, I often chopped the peelings and cores into smaller pieces and spread the scraps in a thin layer over the bedding, then covered them with more wet newspaper strips. Another option is to bury the scraps in a different spot each time, which will make it easier to sort out the finished compost from the bedding.
I add food scraps every couple of days. I avoid watermelon rinds because they are difficult for the worms to eat and garlic and onion peels because they can produce odors. Grains, like leftover pasta or even moldy bread, can be added, but never meat, oils or dairy products.
So far there have been no odors and not nearly as many fruit flies. Spetich suggests adding more bedding and burying the food deeper to get rid of fruit flies completely. If a worm compost is done correctly, Spetich says, there should be essentially no odors or fruit flies.
My worms have stayed put. If they don’t, something is wrong, Spetich says. There might not be enough oxygen or moisture or it could be too warm. If the bin is near a washing machine, the worms might be bothered by the vibration.
If I don’t eat at home and don’t have as many scraps to feed the worms, they can easily last on the bedding. When I go on vacation soon, I’ll feed them extra and add more bedding.
By the third week, I already noticed patches of dark brown dirtlike material at the bottom of the bin and the population of worms had definitely increased. Castings — nutrient-rich worm waste — are usually ready within one to four months, depending on the size of the bin, the worms and the amount of food scraps. At that point, my instructions tell me to shine a flashlight into the bin so the worms move to the very bottom. Then I can scoop up the castings.
I’ll be moving again soon, but in their Rubbermaid bin, my helpful worms can easily accompany me. Coming next week Newer lawn mowers offer more energy efficiency and amenities than older models.
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